Following in the footsteps of its Bell brethren, SBC Communications Inc. on Monday announced bundled consumer packages combining local and long distance calling, Internet access and wireless service.
SBC Total Connections, the first bundle in the new SBC Connections family of bundles, combines SBC Yahoo! DSL or dial-up; wireless through the SBC and BellSouth Corp. joint venture Cingular Wireless; cents-per-minute long distance or local toll rates; local phone service; and home calling features. The plans start at about $85.
Customers also can add satellite TV through DISH Network, SBC’s marketing partner; however, those charges will appear on a separate bill.
Grappling to ward off local phone competition, SBC is the third Bell company to introduce bundled packages this year, following BellSouth and Verizon Communications Inc.
SBC, the No. 2 local phone company, says about 7 million subscribers, representing about 22 percent of its customer base, have purchased a distinct package or bundle from the company as of the third quarter.
SBC Total Connections is available throughout the company’s 13-state region except for Connecticut. The company says it plans to offer additional improvements to its package and new bundles in the “near future including long distance calling plans allowing for unlimited night and weekend calling and bundles that blur the lines between wireless and wire line.”
